A VIEW OF THE WEEK: Can someone please give Ramaphosa a real tour of Joburg?

Lying on the cold pavement, clutching what little possessions they have, the homeless of Johannesburg are often kept awake by fear and the terror the city holds at night.

The neon glow of the giant billboard above Ponte Tower illuminates where the now broken and vandalised street lights once did. The flood of light may distract, but at least it keeps the dangers of the darkness at bay.

Running raw sewerage and filthy litter-filled streets give the city its scent, while the sounds of rats fighting or vagrants rummaging assault the ears.

Sometimes, tragically, these rats may even attempt to bite feet or exposed body parts.

These are scenes and senses that dominate in the heart of Africa’s richest city and one once marketed as “world class”.

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Did Ramaphosa see it all in Joburg?

It was likely not the full scene that welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa when he recently galavanted into the CBD at night for an oversight visit.

Ramaphosa reportedly praised the strong presence of law enforcement in the area, most of those likely dispatched as part of the curated visit.

Roads were no doubt closed and cleaned a little before the president’s visit, but a true unannounced visit would have been halted within minutes by a broken traffic light or jaywalkers swarming his convoy.

Had he visited during the day, he also would have seen more clearly what the darkness hid: a city in deep decay and at war with itself. Streets bustling with people, crime and paranoia.

The very law enforcement he praised may, if he is lucky, be present during this unannounced visit, but he would get a front-row seat to how overrun and toothless they are in a sea of squalor.

Was he listening?

The city, like so many across the country, has so much to tell the president, and you hope that he has finally started listening.

He is the leader of a political party that has been in charge of the city for most of the last thirty years, and under his presidency, the decline has continued, if not accelerated.

He is not a casual observer to the death of the city and should take some responsibility for handing out the daggers that struck the fatal blows.

It also took his party losing power, and his presidency shaken in a government of national unity, to have him stand on a Joburg pavement. On that pavement you would hope he saw the ANC’s failures and the frightening future that awaits.

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It is likely that Ramaphosa had neither realisation, and he was simply seizing the moment to score political points ahead of a later visit by his Cabinet to the city. It may also have been a way to build a case against those in his party’s provincial structure who may not agree with his leadership and warn that their powers would no longer be left unchecked.

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A start?

Still, it is a start, and has sent a jolt through the city’s leadership.

Joburg mayor Dada Morero was reportedly unaware of Ramaphosa’s visit but was quick to defend his city.

He admitted that there was much to do but tried to minimise how rotten it is. He then took a page out of the ANC espionage book by suggesting the president simply wanted to see the situation on the ground before receiving misleading reports.

Morero was himself accused of trying to mislead when he pledged that the roads G20 delegates will use to attend the summit later this year will be free of potholes and broken traffic lights. This, while the rest of the city fends for itself.

The mayor said prioritising these routes would benefit all residents, the truth is it will not. It will benefit a few and widen inequality by a government that promised to reduce it.

In the end, a clean, functioning city is one the sleepless in Joburg CBD can only dream of.

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